Alone and Testifying

Being Here 00s - 10:00 Sat, Aug 2

We begin by TESTIFYING to here and now. Stories Include Loren's A Roll o the Dice - an ode to the vagaries of chance on the dark deserted highway and Howard's Q & A with a Republican which might be the rallying cry of all angry jaded optimists as the Boomer's relinquish their grips or is it, relish their gripes?



The Nomadic 90s - 5:30 - Sun, Aug 3

Loren offers stories of travel including Seeing Miss Julie which acknowledges the Devil we know and the one that got away and Leaving the Mens Conference where flu, California freeways and suspicious desk clerks conspire to keep him from a decent night's sleep. Howard TESTIFIES to trading one life in Brooklyn for another in Minnesota.



The Exuberant 80s - 8:30 - Mon, Aug 4

An evening of Circus stories from Loren ALONE including a lesson in crisis negotiation when The Camel Escapes and the wonder of Memphis Bar-B-Que an ode to pork and chainsaws - as well as an evocation of a world now passed when there was Sin on Bourbon Street



Changes 70s - 8:30 - Fri, Aug 8

Howard ALONE with stories of going to the country for a shot at communal living and then, leaving America for exodus or exile (depending on how he tells it) in Montreal.



The Radical 60s - 2:30 - Sat Aug 9

Howard ALONE follows up on last year's fringe performance of 1967 with further explorations of the underbelly of 1968 from sex, drugs and rock to race rlations, student uprisings, the Chicago Democratic Convention and beyond.

The cast

Howard Lieberman
Role: Storyteller

Howard Lieberman has done just about everything on stage except sing, which he would love to do if only he could carry a tune. Howard grew up on the North Side of Chicago with a professional tap dancer for a father and a math teacher for a mother, which partially explains his wild mood swings.


As a young adult Howard left the wholesome Midwest to find fame and fortune as a corporate attorney in New York City. 20 years and one child later, Howard moved to bucolic and staunchly Republican Stillwater, Minnesota with a New York accent and a jaded sense of humor.


Howard's outspoken blend of performance art and storytelling has made him a fixture in the Twin Cities performance world. His 2002 Fringe show, Welcome to My Bomb Shelter, received 14 rave reviews and 1 truly scathing review. Accentuating the positive, His 2004 show, When Worlds Collide, although a tad sexually graphic, received only raves and his 2005 show, Dancing Dirty with Lee and Mr. Bo was well received by all except for a certain jerk at the Pioneer Press who calls himself the Theatre Critic. Howard's frolic with a masturbatory rat in Tom Cassidy's 2006 Fringe show, Shut Up Louder, was a comedic tour de force.


Howard was at it again in 2007 co-starring with Loren Niemi and Felix Hampton Brown in the critically acclaimed 1967, one of the few shows rated MUST SEE by the Pioneer Press which said it "paints brilliantly vivid scenes that inspire an examination of what they see as the truly big change of the summer of love: how Americans view race." As one audience member put it, "The material is powerful, sometimes humorous, always compelling."

Loren Niemi
Role: Storyteller

Loren Niemi has spent 30 years as a storyteller, theatrical performer, and director of performers. His Minnesota Fringe Festival performances include:
- 1967 (with Felix Brown & Howard Lieberman) (2007)
- But Who Am I to Say? (with Diane Wyzga) (2005)
- Alone and Testifying (2004)
- Beauty/Beast (with Megan Wells) (2003)
- Aberrations of Coitus Exoticus, (with Elysabeth Ashe) (2002)
- Words Spoken (2001)
- The Shitty Things We've Done (with Colleen Kruse) (1997)
- Maiden Voyage (with the Cheap Theatre ensemble) (1996)


From performing on the Great Wall of China to collecting stories on the Turtle Mountain Reservation in rural North Dakota or working with artists and social workers to tell the stories of "the Troubles" in Belfast, Northern Ireland; Loren lives the storied life he tells. He has entertained audiences of all ages in cabarets, art galleries, churches and standing on the platform of Minneapolis Light Rail Transit watching the public art installations.


Loren has a BA (Philosophy and Studio Arts) from St. Mary's University (Winona, MN) and a MA in Liberal Studies (American Culture) from Hamline University (St. Paul, MN). He teaches Storytelling in the Communications Department of Metropolitan State University (St. Paul, MN).

Showtimes

Sat., Aug. 2 @ 10:00 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 3 @ 5:30 p.m.
Mon., Aug. 4 @ 8:30 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 8 @ 8:30 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 9 @ 2:30 p.m.

Show details